Texas teacher says job in jeopardy over porn actress past

A Texas teacher at an all-girls academy claims she was fired after it was discovered she was an adult film actress more than a decade ago.

Resa Woodward was a teacher at the Young Women’s STEAM Academy at Balch Spring Middle School in the Dallas school district before she was placed on administrative leave on Nov. 29, the Dallas Morning News reported Wednesday.

District spokeswoman Robyn Harris told the Morning News that Woodward is still considered on administrative leave and the investigation into Woodward’s past, but the 38-year-old teacher told the newspaper that she was fighting termination.

The Morning News reported, citing records, that the district was made aware of Woodward’s career in the porn industry back in March 2016 on an anonymous tip. An internal review cleared Woodward of any wrongdoing and school officials told her she could still teach unless her past became public.

It was revealed in fall that Woodward was an adult film actress. She said she was forced into the industry because at the time she was living with an older man and having financial troubles.

The tip said Woodward worked under the stage name Robyn Foster, and a further investigation revealed that she worked in the industry from 2001 to 2004 and participated in 16 films.

According to the records obtained by the Morning News, the tipster was concerned because they felt Woodward was “trying to deceive parents” and they didn’t want children exposed to her past.

Woodward initially denied the allegations, but confirmed the allegations during the district’s probe.

“I’ve been trying to live my life as far away as possible from this stuff for a long time,” she told officials.

The school didn’t find any policy violations during the investigation, but her activities in the Libertarian Party of Texas led to the public outing, she said.

A Facebook post Woodward wrote about a drunk driver led to a fight with another member of the Libertarian Party over attitudes about police. The man then revealed her past on social media.

Woodward reportedly told district officials who then placed her on leave.

According to the paper, she had filed an appeal with the Texas Education Agency. The agency said they weren’t pursuing an independent hearing because the appeal was filed incorrectly.

Woodward said she had worked in the education field for 15 years and even took off a year to pursue her master’s degree in 2013. Now, she’s fighting for her job. She said she has been praised for her work and even earned a pay raise to years in a row.